This is not a rumor, it is pure speculation. It’s likely that Apple will domore than just freshen the current iMac at MacWorld, NY. The big question iswhether or not it will sport an LCD screen. I’m betting that it will.

Thecost of LCD screens has dropped as supply currently exceeds demand in a weakmarket, but the cost for 15″ LCD’s is still significantly higher than a 15″CRT. Apple needs to hold the line on price for their volume consumerproduct. One possible trade off would be to use a 14″ LCD. Rumors of a newintermediate PowerBook with 14″ screen could be a smoke screen to disguisethe fact that Apple will be procuring a ton of 14″ LCDs for an iMacreplacement.

I think a 14″ LCD would still be superior to the 15″ CRT ofcurrent iMacs. If they replace the power hungry CRT, also look for a powersupply in the form of an external brick. This is starting to smell like aCube with a screen, but Apple must not repeat the pricing error they madewith the cube. The new iMac must be engineered to provide tremendous bangfor the buck.

They proved they can do this with the new iBook. At the iBookintro, Steve Jobs put heavy emphasis on the shift in sales to laptops. IfApple is selling nearly 50 percent laptops a few years from now, then it makes alot of sense to turn the iMac into a near laptop. I am writing this on a20th Anniversary Mac, by the way!